Return to Aslan: Susan's Last Adventure
by Isa53
Summary: The final book of the Narnia Series. My take on the "prodigal daughter" story Lewis intended to pen for Susan. Updates are planned for Thursdays. Story takes place after The Last Battle. Susan's life much later after the train accident...
1. Chapter 1

_I am not C.S. Lewis. __I am not a writer. __I am not a theology scholar either. __Although, I am about to pretend to be a little of all three._

_I am merely an interested party that believes the story did not end with the last battle._

_The idea of permanent salvation is in direct conflict with the thought of Susan not being allowed into heaven for her later denial. I hope to resolve some of these issues in my story._

_A few people believe that this is where Jack wanted to go with Narnia. After hearing rumors about the story that he never got to write, the "prodigal daughter" type story CS Lewis actually intended to pen for his beloved Susan character, my mind began to fabricate him writing something like this..._

_**Also: I am looking for betas to review this and the next chapters. I doubt the story will be much longer than 4 or 5 more chapters, but a second set of eyes would be appreciated. If interested please pm me.**_

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The Return to Aslan: Susan's Last Adventure

Chapter 1

She smiled a little, which seemed to be a rare sort of thing for her at this age. The faded picture with sepia smiles brought back happy memories from so very long ago. Her eye glassed over a bit as they do when one was about to cry, but as the air was leaving her lungs to do so, she shook her head and dashed away the memories. She thought of moving the picture away from the mantel so many times. It seemed that every time she was putting a new log on the fire she would end up staring at it for a minute or two. She always ended up dismissing the thought in the end though, and now after so many years, the picture was like an old friend. The fire cracked with the new log now set upon the blaze, so Susan decided to return to her chair.

Something similar to the sound of a stampede, but lighter and almost clumsier sounding, echoed from the hallways. From the midst of the banging and clattering came voices. "Aw! You cannot do that! It's cheating!" "I can too Lucas! It's my game and I said that these are the rules!" These kinds of voices and noises seemed to ring throughout the house all day, or at least, since it started raining. A woman's voice out in the hallway called after the herd, "No running now! And keep it down! It's getting late and you don't want to disturb grandma's things."

Susan's daughter, Elizabeth, and grandchildren had been making such a ruckus today. With all the noise, Susan almost missed the soft calling, "Grandma Susie?" Turning her head a bit to look over her shoulder, she noticed the child. "What are you doing, grandma?" asked Patricia, the youngest of her daughter's brood. She broke away from the game that the other children were playing and was now on tip-toes as she approached her grandmother.

"I'm just reading a story," replied Susan and this seemed to be the kind of answer the Patricia had hoped to hear. Patricia immediately hopped the few remaining steps between her and her grandmother's chair, then plopped herself down on the floor near her Grandmother Susan's feet.

"What kind of story?" squeaked the child, "Is there magic and adventures?"

"No," Susan replied, "no magic or adventures in this one I'm afraid. In fact, it's quite dull." With that, she closed the book in her lap. Susan knew that with Patricia at her feet she was not going to get much more reading done. And truth be told, the book was in fact very dull and Susan was tired of reading it. "Do you like stories, Patricia?"

"Oh yes!" she exclaimed. "I like them very much. Mummy tells some of the best stories to us at bed time." The child's eyes fixed on Susan as if there was much more to this statement then she told. Patricia opened her mouth to say more, but then apparently thought the better of it and just continued to look intently at her grandmother.

"What kind of stories does she tell you?" asked Susan, who was sincerely interested now.

"Well," started Patricia, "she tells us a great many stories." She continued to list off a few typical children's stories and paused for a moment as if she was not sure if she should go on. "But my favorite stories are the ones about you."

This surprised Susan. "The ones about me?"

"Yes, when you went to Narnia," Patricia answered. "Mummy tells us all about the adventures you had there and how you were a Queen. I really like all the talking animals so I ask to hear about those stories all the time." She was more excited and seemed to be truly pleased that she was finally talking to her grandmother about this. "The beavers and the little mouse with the sword, and the tree people, and dwarfs, and centaurs!" She continued to ramble off more and more figures and characters, getting more excited as she went until finally she said, "Oh, and Aslan! He's my favorite."

At just his name, Susan shivered a bit but dismissed the reaction. "Oh, those stories," was all she could seem to say.

Patricia inched a bit closer to her grandmother's feet. "It was raining like today when you went the first time, right? Mummy said that you were playing inside while it was raining and ended up finding Narnia in a wardrobe!"

Seeing as how there would be no shifting from this topic, Susan figured she might as well get the child's story straight. "No, when it was raining only my sister Lucy went through the wardrobe. Well, that is to say that Lucy was the one to first imagine the game that we played. She first thought of us finding a magical land in the wardrobe."

"Oh," replied Patricia. The look on her face was rather serious for someone of her age. She was clearly trying to sort out all the details of the beginning of the story.

Susan wanted to explain that the stories were all just games that they played when they were children. While they had very active imaginations. None of it was real. Susan looked closer at Patricia who seemed to be still thinking very hard. With her little expression so serious, Susan felt her heart soften. She remembered Lucy's face looking just as serious as she told Peter and her about the magical land she had found and her friend faun. Patricia did look very much like Lucy, especially now, she was the same age as Lucy when their games first began. "We…" she paused and changed her mind, "when we all went into the wardrobe for the first time together it was because we were hiding from the professor we lived with. We had just broken his window and none of us wanted to get into trouble."

Dropping whatever thought seemed to be troubling her, Patricia focused on her grandmother again. "You lived here at the time right?" she asked. "I mean, the professor passed away and you moved into his house, but before that. When it was just the professor living here, you all came to stay with him during the war?" Patricia's question was more a statement and Susan realized that she knew the Narnia stories rather well.

"Yes, that's right. I was staying here with Lucy, Edmund, and Peter." Susan began to retell the story as best as she could remember. She was surprised to realize she remember a lot from their games. Patricia, who was a very captive audience, would chime in only occasionally to ask a question. It seemed that she knew most of the story by heart already and could probably even tell it better than Susan could, but there were still details she was curious to know more about.

They had only just gotten to the part where Susan received her bow and her horn from Father Christmas, when Elizabeth's voice broke up the story. "Patricia, honey, it's getting late you should be getting ready for bed."

"But mummy, we are just getting to the good parts!" declared Patricia.

"Oh, I'm sure it will all be just as interesting tomorrow. Come on now," Elizabeth motioned toward the door, "I'll be along to tuck you in soon. Make sure you brush your teeth."

With a little bit of grumbling and sighing, the little girl finally got up. She hugged her grandmother and gave her a pleading look to which her grandmother reassured her, "We will finish the story tomorrow." At that, Patricia seemed to have a little more spring in her step as she headed off to bed.

Her daughter came over to the fire by Susan and took the seat opposite her. "What were you two talking about?" she asked.

"Oh, just the Narnia story," Susan replied.

"As long as you are comfortable telling the stories, mum," said Elizabeth. Susan gave her a puzzled look. Elizabeth went on to explain, "Mum, you just always get so sad after talking about Narnia and your brothers and sister. That's why, as much as I loved the Narnia stories too, I stopped asking you to tell them. You just seemed to light up when you told them, which is part of why I loved to hear them, but seeing how sad you would get after… it just made me too sad." She paused for a minute and looked into the fire, "I started telling the children your stories when they couldn't sleep. They really took to them too, just like Nancy and I had. Patricia loves to hear them the most. In fact, if I stopped reading from all the other books entirely, she wouldn't even notice, as long as I kept telling her about Narnia."

Susan smiled, "She's very bright and reminds me so much of Lucy." She looked up at the mantle and the old picture of all four of them together. Little Lucy eagerly talking about her adventures with Mr. Tumnus while she was a Queen. Suddenly, a picture of a young woman in a silver crown flashed in her mind. Susan shook her head and the image of the bright-eyed young woman left her.

"Are you alright, mum?" Elizabeth asked as she got out of her chair.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." Susan got up as well and decided to head for bed too. She squeezed her daughter's hand and kissed her cheek then went over to the fire and made sure to close up the screen tight. "I'm fine, dear. Goodnight." She could hear Elizabeth calling goodnight as well and heading for the door. As Susan stood back up from tending the fire, she caught a glance at the picture again. This time she did not shake the feelings away. She let a few tears come down her face before she turned to walk away.

As Susan lay in bed, still very awake despite the now late hour, she continued to think about Narnia. She remembered the first time she started telling Nancy and Elizabeth her tales about Narnia. There had been a terrible storm right after they moved into this house and all the power had gone out. She went to the children's room to comfort them, knowing that neither of them liked storms very much. Elizabeth, certainly still scared but trying to put on a brave face for her little sister, suggested a story. With candles and flashlights mostly hidden in boxes yet to be unpacked, Susan would not be able to read a word from any of their books in that darkness. She would have to tell them a story from memory. All she could picture as she looked into her brave yet scared daughter's face was Aslan. "Have I ever told you how I was once a Queen?" Susan asked her children. That certainly got their attention. After that, the books on the children's shelves began to collect dust. Night after night, the children wanted to know more about Caspian, or the White Witch, or different feasts and parties at Cair Paravel, or Aslan. Elizabeth wanted to know mostly about Aslan. "Was he nice? How big was he? Did he really die?"

It was on Aslan that Susan's thoughts now rested. She began to grow tired and now she was feeling a mixture of longing (as you would for a friend you've not seen for a long time) and bitterness.

**_Continued to Chapter 2_**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning came too soon, as most mornings that follow restless nights seem to. Patricia was giddy and bounced all over the place. She was starting to make Susan dizzy when her mother finally told her to go play. "After lunch, we will see if grandma is up to telling more of her story." Patricia seemed disappointed at first, but eventually darted outside with the other three children. Lucas, Susan, and Daniel had already made up another game.

Thankful to have some peace, Susan quietly got up from the table to fill the teapot again. She hoped that another cup or two could remove the mental fog that had seeped into her mind. Elizabeth cleared the table of its breakfast remnants and then settled back down at the kitchen table near her mother. "You're awfully quiet this morning, mum. Everything alright?"

"I'm fine," she replied with a faint smile. "Just not as young as I used to be. Late nights get the better of me now."

Elizabeth's face flashed a note of concern. "Look, mum," she said with a bit of hesitation. "Nancy and I can take turns coming to stay with you, but I think..."

"What is it?" Susan's tone was sharp. She could see where her daughter was going and did not want to be talking about this.

"Your health, mum," Elizabeth shot back. Ignoring her mother's eye roll, she continued. "You know what the doctor said. You shouldn't be living in this big house all by yourself. The kids and I can visit in the summer and the weekends, but this is hardly a practical solution. We need... to think about something more long term."

Susan pressed her lips together tightly. She could say something smart in reply, about how she was more than capable to run her own home, but she would rather drop the subject. Elizabeth opened her mouth again, as if she planned to continue to make her point clear, but the teapot whistled and saved Susan from having to endure more on this topic. "We can figure something out in the fall," Susan stated shortly, "Let's just enjoy the rest of our summer, hm?"

Elizabeth looked less than satisfied at her mother's reply but she did not want to press her luck. "Alright, but I'm going to hold you to it. We'll talk more."

With that, they changed the subject to more pleasant things. Between sips of tea, Susan and her daughter caught up on many things. Most of it was chitchat, subjects like work and the children's hobbies and interests. Her youngest daughter Nancy and her son were also discussed. He was a spoiled, short tempered, little boy, but thankfully, he learned that his temper tantrums did not work on his grandmother. Susan would hate to admit that she had favorites out of her grandchildren, but if she did, Ronald would not be near the top of the list.

Promptly at noon, their conversation drifted to the subject of lunch. They began to put together items for the kids and themselves. Elizabeth hollered out the backdoor for her children to come in and wash up. Patricia was the first to burst into the room. "Lunch and then stories! Right, grandma?"

"Go wash up," her mother demanded.

The rest of the children filed in and after washing, settled down for sandwiches. Patricia ate her meal so fast that it would have given any grown up a bellyache. She was so focused on being done in order to hear what happen next to Susan in Narnia that she barely even remembered what she had eaten. Patricia was quickly disappointed to realize that her grandmother was still eating and that no stories could continue until she was done. She returned to the table with her brothers and sister with a sour look on her face.

"What's wrong, Patty?" her sister Susan (named after her grandmother, of course) asked between bites of her sandwich.

"I feel like I've been waiting forever to hear the rest of grandma's story," she pouted.

"What story?" Lucas said, or at least, Patricia assumed that is what he said. It was rather hard to understand the words he uttered with his mouthful.

"Keep your trap shut when you have a hunk of food in your mouth, Luke," demanded Daniel. He always had such an authoritative tone talking to Lucas and Patricia. Just because he was older does not make him the boss, Patricia often thought. However, her sister Susan, who was the oldest, was definitely in charge when mum was not around.

Susan rolled her eyes at both of the boys. She looked back at her little sister, "What story?"

Patricia bounced a little in her seat, "Grandma was telling me about when she was in Narnia!"

The other children looked at the youngest. "Narnia?" Daniel asked, "You mean like the stories mum told us when we was little?"

Patricia nodded with excitement, "Yeah, and grandma telling it is so much better! But she was there so, of course it's better!"

Daniel and Lucas looked at each other and started to chuckle.

"They are just stories Patty! She didn't really go there!" Daniel laughed at his sister.

Patricia stood up from the table in a huff and began defending her convictions to the cynical boys, when her sister interjected. "That's enough everyone. Boys leave her alone. Patty, sit down. I'm sure grandma will be done eating soon. Maybe we can all listen to her stories."

There was a bit of arguing from the boys at the thought of abandoning their game, after all, they were winning. Susan suggested just declaring them winners. They would start a new game later, and that seemed to appease them. Meanwhile, she assured Patricia that she was also keeping score and they clearly won, but they should not tell the boys or they would start acting like spoilsports.

Patricia agreed not to tell the boys that they really won the game, but by now, she did not care who won, in fact, she hardly cared when she was playing. She was growing more and more impatient, until finally her grandmother walked into the dining room. "Are you all done eating, Patty?" she asked.

The young child leaped from her seat as if she had been sitting upon springs. "Yes!" she squeaked.

"Let's settle into the library then. It's more comfortable," Susan told her granddaughter.

"We want to hear the stories too," stated Susan's young namesake.

"Oh," their grandmother said, a little surprised at the older children's interest. "I see, well, come along then."

Susan felt eager to tell them all about Narnia, yet she was completely on edge to do so as well. It was a strange feeling, like a war being waged inside of her. Being resolved to do so however, she simply took a deep breath to calm her emotions and made her way to the library.

She told her children these story many times over the years. Why she was suddenly so worked up for this telling was a mystery she would have to explore another time. She currently had an audience waiting.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Susan sat down in an old and friendly chair in her library. The children took various spots on the floor and on the couch nearby. Patricia looked as if she would burst from excitement but she contained herself in case she might miss something.

"Well, let me see. Yesterday, I was telling your sister about how I got into Narnia in the first place," began Susan.

One of boys scoffed a little. They were both sitting on the couch, so it was difficult to say which one, but given Daniel's crossed arms and skeptical expression, he seemed to be the logical culprit.

"If you don't want to listen to grandma's story then go outside and play by yourself," scorned his older sister. To that, he folded his arms a bit tighter and looked at table in front of him.

Everyone's attention returned to Susan sitting in her chair. "As I was saying," she continued. Without getting into as much detail as she had last night with Patricia, Susan retold the beginning of the story so that all the children were up to speed. Susan was, again, surprised at how much they already knew from hearing the story told from their mother. Susan had not remembered going into that many details with her children but apparently she must have. Like Patricia recount of the story, some of the orders of events and details were a bit confused, so Susan made sure to clarify those parts. She was taken aback by the fact that she was so concerned when the children had some part of the story wrong. She did not dwell on this thought very long, but she was surprised at her conviction to argue about details with them.

Lucas snorted, "That's not the way mum tells it. She told us you found Mr. Tumnus turned to stone in his trashed house and the letter from the Queen's police was with him."

"Well, your mum wasn't there was she?" Susan shot back at her grandson. "So, do you want to hear what really happened or not?"

_What really happened…? _Susan's words hung in the air and in her mind for a while. _I mean, the way the story really goes. The way our game really went. _She wanted to say these words but, for some reason, she could not. They felt like lies. Susan took a sip of her tea that was sitting on the table next to her and cleared her throat. She did not linger on her slip-up any longer; she only proceeded with her story.

Before she knew it, they had talked past the sunset and right into dinnertime. Elizabeth began to wonder what was keeping her children so occupied and slipped into the back of the room. She took a seat on a vacant chair and became just as captivated by the ongoing story. They had been mesmerized by the White Witch's demand for her brother's blood, the battle, and Aslan's death and return. Nobody noticed the time or his or her hungry bellies.

"But after a few years, you came back home, right? You found a way back to England?" asked Patricia, who had barely spoken the whole time.

"Yes," answered Susan. "We reigned for about 15 years in Narnia's time, but found the lamp post again when we were out riding. Seeing the lamp got Lucy curious. She remembered it had meant something, but we had all but forgotten our old lives here. So, when she dismounted and began poking around the trees, we followed her. Suddenly, we ended up in the wardrobe. We tumbled out of there at the same moment we left and were the same ages again."

"Wow!" Patricia breathed her amazed reply. "What did you all look like as kings and queens? I mean, when you were old…. when you left."

"Oh, well…" Susan was caught off guard by the question. Looking around the room, she noticed another picture on the mantel and got up to retrieve it. "I looked like this," she answered. It was a picture of her in her late twenties or early thirties. She was dressed up for a benefit with her husband. "But my hair was much longer. The dresses were fancier too, and of course, I had a crown," she smiled at Patricia when she mentioned the crown. She could see that part really impressed her.

"And Lucy," the image of the young woman she thought of yesterday came to her mind again. "Well, Lucy looked a lot like your mother," her voice was now soft and sad. She kept the image of the young woman with the same pretty eyes as her sister in her mind. Her long brown hair and little silver crown had a glow. She was so vivid in Susan's mind now that the details were astounding. She was at a loss of words for a minute or two when she heard her granddaughter Susan speak up.

"That's kind of funny that when you made up the story and played pretend, you ended up looking the same," young Susan was holding the picture now and gazing casually at it.

"What do you mean?" her grandmother asked, she was rather confused by her statement.

"Well, when I played games like that with the boys or with the girls down the street, I always picture myself looking like one of the movie stars I've seen or a pretty actress from a play. And I doubt I'll look much like them when I'm all grown," Susan handed the picture back to her grandmother and shrugged her shoulders a little, "I just thought it was funny."

Her grandmother turned away with a puzzled look on her face and looked at an even older picture on the mantel. The same picture she always looked at of her brothers and sister with her. The older versions of them in Narnia were stuck in her mind now.

Seeing as how the story was over, young Susan and the boys began to stir and headed for the hallway. They had been sitting far too long and now needed to expel some energy before bed. Lucas noticed his mother sitting at the back of the room and blurted out a question about dinner. Everyone suddenly became sharply aware of the time and his or her hunger. She assured him it would be along shortly and he should go play for a while. Elizabeth left to fix something for dinner and once the other children left, Patricia finally spoke up. "It was real. Wasn't it grandma?"

Susan did not want to lie to her granddaughter but she did not want to spoil her love for the Narnia stories either. This felt like the same inner war she ignored for years when she told her own children about Narnia. Finally, Susan resolved to say, "Of course, it was real."

Patricia gave her grandmother a great big smile and hugged her. Then quickly, she dashed out of the room to play with her siblings before dinner.

Watching her leave the room, Susan's eyes began to fill up with tears. Once she had spoken the words to Patricia, Susan allowed herself to realize something…

She did not lie to her.

_**To be continued...**_


End file.
